Every year we like to welcome the new year at midnight with the clanging of pots and pans, laughter, and eager anticipation of the days to come. How quickly one year ends and a new begins! But the best part of it all? That our God is all-powerful and ever loving, good, and faithful.

Looking back with thanksgiving and forward with hope, I found the following both beautiful and humbling: A Prayer for Year’s End from “The Valley of Vision.”

O Love beyond Compare,
Thou art good when thou givest,
when thou takest away,
when the sun shines upon me,
when night gathers over me.
Thou hast loved me before the foundation of the world,
and in love didst redeem my soul;
Thou dost love me still,
in spite of my hard heart, ingratitude, distrust.
Thy goodness has been with me another year,
leading me through a twisting wilderness,
in retreat helping me to advance,
when beaten back making sure headway.
Thy goodness will be with me in the year ahead;
I hoist sail and draw up anchor,
With thee as the blessed pilot of my future as of my past.
I bless thee that thou hast veiled my eyes to the waters ahead.
If thou hast appointed storms of tribulation,
thou wilt be with me in them;
If I have to pass through tempests of persecution and temptation,
I shall not drown;
If I am to die,
I shall see thy face the sooner;
If a painful end is to be my lot,
grant me grace that my faith fail not;
If I am to be cast aside from the service I love,
I can make no stipulation;
Only glorify thyself in me whether in comfort or trial,
as a chosen vessel meet always for thy use.

“Who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
—Philippians 2:6-11

It happens just twice a year and it’s a brilliant way to find other creative blogs, ideas, and shops. Popping up on the internet from all over the world are giveaways of handmade goods and sewing & craft supplies. Now’s the perfect time to enter for the possibility to win something wonderful, discover your next project, or even find a new favorite fabric or blogger: find them all here and here.

Use the Rafflecopter below to enter, it’s easy and there are several ways to add your name to the hat! Giveaway ends Friday, December 12th at midnight EST and the winner will be randomly selected and announced here the following day. This giveaway is open to US and International entrants alike.

Our newest embroidery pattern is up in the shop as a pattern or complete kit! Featuring 1 Corinthians 13:7-8, this embroidery is the perfect gift for weddings and anniversaries. And, really, it’s good for all of us – a beautiful reminder that love never ends.

“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things,
endures all things. Love never ends…”

And today is the third anniversary of launching Clementine Patterns! It’s been a wonderful three years of designing, cutting, stitching, wrapping, folding, assembling, packaging, and shipping off orders to so many wonderful customers! So to celebrate: Use coupon code HAPPYSHIP at checkout for free shipping on all domestic orders through November 10th!

This autumn we planted three varieties of garlic. Now we get to wait for the summer harvest to find out which we like best and add home-grown garlic to some favorite dishes – it’s perfect in steak sauce, mashed cauliflower, fermented green beans, and a host of others.

As if its vibrant flavor wasn’t good enough, garlic is full of anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal, and anti-oxidant properties, which make it an especially good thing to have on hand.

Before breaking apart the garlic heads.

Burrowing the garlic clove into its winter home, pointy-side up.

Cloves ready to be covered with a blend of dirt and home-ripened compost.

“While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat,summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”
—Genesis 8:22

Hello, again. I’m so glad you’re here! Summer was a wonderful season filled with living and growing and learning and loving… as well as a break from blogging. (You might’ve noticed that I’ve still been around a bit on Instagram and Pinterest.)But Autumn is here, and while these days don’t look like they’ll slow down anytime soon, I’m looking forward to carving out time to post here again.

Life is full of seasons with love, mercy, faithfulness, pain, forgiveness, beauty, hope, and much, much more – all because of the greatness and goodness of God.

“For everything there is a season, anda time for every matter under heaven.”
—Ecclesiastes 3:1

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
His mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is Your faithfulness.
‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul,
‘therefore I will hope in Him.'”
—Lamentations 3:22-24

As always, things are cooking in the studio, but the latest one just released on October 1st! There will be more about that next week…

A glimpse of last evening’s breathtaking storm clouds as they fulfilled the decree of the Lord. I was again left in amazement at the greatness of our God, who ordained every cloud and every gust of wind that declared His glory as the storm passed over us.

“Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all deeps,
fire and hail, snow and mist, stormy wind fulfilling His word!”
—Psalm 148:7-8

With yesterday being the first day of the beautiful spring season, I went on a search for something green that would reveal new life after a long winter.

I was happy to find the tips of daffodils peeking between last autumn’s leaves, tulips pushing their way up where just a few weeks ago stood a snowdrift reaching over six feet tall, and, of course, the ever-faithful moss that pops up here and there.

While there are still many patches of green that have yet to show their fresh beauty, I know they’ll appear soon. Spring has just begun and it will keep on coming.

“While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat,
summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”
—Genesis 8:22

“For the word of the Lord is upright, and all His work is done in faithfulness. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.”
—Psalm 33:4-5

P.S. To celebrate spring, we’re offering 20% off all of our embroidery patterns and kits atClementine Pattern Co.through March 25th – just use coupon code SPRING14 at checkout!